Battery fire

[Rough Edge racing]

 My vintage Triumph land speed racer is displayed in the living room when not being used.No fuel in the tank of course...It has a total loss electrial for the ignition powered by a 6 AH glass matt battery. From time to time I charge the battery....So last night I get up at 3 am to let the cat out. he was in a rush for some reason..The living room is full of smoke, oh shit ! Smoke and flames  from he bike battery box..Rules require a sturdy battery holder.The box is 18 gauge steel ,fully enclosed with a hinged access door.The battery is cushioned by foam pads. I had unplugged the charger and pulled the negative lead..Apparantly the positive charger alligator clip slipped down and shorted to the steel box .A direct short toasted the battery...If I had closed the box door the fire would have benn smothered..
   The only damage is burned wire leads and the battery... The fuse was removed so the ignition should be ok...

           

            The battery box is under the seat
           
     

     

[Lannis]

That's a good cat!

Buy him a can of sardines or whatever he likes.   Not many people own Rescue Cats!

Lannis

[Groover]

Great cat for sure! Nice save 

[Rough Edge racing]

  Believe me, the cat was saving himself ,lol...

[80CX100]

     Yup sardines for life  very lucky it worked out the way it did.

      I hope the electric fire smell didn't do too much damage.

      For a rough old race bike, it looks quite elegant and graceful parked there at a standstill 

       Kelly

[Guzzi Gal]

I'm with Lannis, Kitty possibly saved lives (selfpreservation notwithstanding), and probably property.  Enjoy the first day of the rest of your life! 

[Zoom Zoom]

I'm with Lannis, Kitty possibly saved lives (selfpreservation notwithstanding), and probably property.  Enjoy the first day of the rest of your life!

Here here

ZZ

[Rough Edge racing]

Hmmm, I never gave much thought to the cat, the story was more about the battery and  bike.....

[LowRyter]

Many years ago when our sons were in school, Bev was in the hospital for a couple of days.  The guys and I were in total stress, disorganization and aggression mode.  Fighting and dysfunctional the entire time.  I neglected to set the alarm to get the kids off and to get to work.  Our cat woke me up in time to get the day in order, perhaps saving a huge family meltdown. 

I was always grateful and appreciated that cat like never before after that.

[Rough Edge racing]

 Ok, this is the cat...We raised him from an abandoned  feral kitten 15 years ago...From the many half eaten squirrels seen, he would like a dish of rodent heads..But he's now in his golden years,
   

[cliffrod]

  Believe me, the cat was saving himself ,lol...

Yup, my shop cat would feel no differently.   

Very seriously, I'm glad all ended as well as it did.

[Guzzi Gal]

Hmmm, I never gave much thought to the cat, the story was more about the battery and  bike.....

Without that handsome cat, this story could have ended in tragedy.  Much to our joy, you and your bike survived to tell the tale.  You saved him, he saved you.      

[cliffrod]

Hmmm, I never gave much thought to the cat, the story was more about the battery and  bike.....

In fact, if it was my bike and my cat at my house....  She probably would have been on the bike as soon as I left the room. Probably a combination of sleeping on it,  clawing the seat or playing motorcycle acrobat.  Then she grabbed a wire that moved that alligator clip that started the fire. She then decided she needed to get away as fast as possible and claim the award as hero instead of villain.

Maybe your cat has better morals than mine.  I'm just saying to consider all scenarios before buying her that big box of catnip. 

[bigbikerrick]

You guys are hilarious! 
Rick.

[Kiwi_Roy]

Any more incidents like that and the bike will be banned from the house, it's obviously not house trained.

[80CX100]

In fact, if it was my bike and my cat at my house....  She probably would have been on the bike as soon as I left the room. Probably a combination of sleeping on it,  clawing the seat or playing motorcycle acrobat.  Then she grabbed a wire that moved that alligator clip that started the fire. She then decided she needed to get away as fast as possible and claim the award as hero instead of villain.

Maybe your cat has better morals than mine.  I'm just saying to consider all scenarios before buying her that big box of catnip.

     Omg that's too funny, but there is some truth to it, in most arson cases, the one that discovers it, was usually the one that started it 

     Rough maybe your retired squirrel weapon, needed a little excitement, it would be a good case for Columbo 

     

[cliffrod]

     Omg that's too funny, but there is some truth to it, in most arson cases, the one that discovers it, was usually the one that started it 

     Rough maybe your retired squirrel weapon, needed a little excitement, it would be a good case for Columbo 

     

It's funny because it's all true. Mine hadn't started any fires yet, but they have done all the rest plus more...

For some reason, one day Bubba (now dead) stuck his head- all the way to his ears- into one of my gutted shark gill silentiums.  Looked like I drew a circle around his head with a fat black magic marker.   After that on a different day, he climbed into the oil drain pan as/after I drained the oil on my V7 Sport and wasn't standing there. Vigorously clawing the seat on my unrestored 1965 Ducati Sebring 350 was the worst lasting damage.  He wasn't the only one who at least bit, if not chewed on wires, slept on the bikes and more. 

In fact, now that I think about it, the house me and Bubba shared in TN burned to the ground a few months after we sold it and moved to VT where most of the above stuff happened.   Maybe Bub had it in for me and his timing just didn't work out as planned?   What a peckerhead.  Man I loved that cross-eyed cat.

Moral of the story is probably that it's ok to trust your cat but don't forget that a cat is still a cat and you're not.....  Stay safe out there.

[Chuck in Indiana]

he would like a dish of rodent heads..

We came home from work one day, and in front of the entry door were 3 chipmunks sitting on their haunches.. without heads.  Ol' Ray must have been proud enough to display them for us.
Right now, Dorcia would like to have Ray back. I've caught 3 in the chipmunkinator, though..

[Testarossa]

A lot of cats will back up the alarm clock. Panda woke up my daughter to warn us of a family of raccoons ransacking the kitchen.

[Tkelly]

I am not a cat lover so they always want to jump in my lap.Our white cat lived outside and when I was on the floor of the barn cursing some bike issue I couldn’t fix he would climb on my belly and sort of vibrate as I took a sanity break.After a few minutes a solution would come to mind.

[Rough Edge racing]

I'm  not a cat lover either..But our daughter found him and three siblings in her garage when they were about 6 weeks old. No mom cat so she nursed them. Then she stops by with a box of kittens to show us. I figured it was a giveaway, so I picked up a kitten and asked if it was a male... and said I'll take this one with the stripes....We have acerage for the cat to be a cat and not bother the neighbors. Well, he became family so to speak...he was the Alpha Male for many years ,but he's  old now and recently  got his ass kicked by a younger male..Had to take him to the vet to have the wounds treated..He has recovered but he hangs closer to the house, a look of defeat on his face.... and we keep him inside more...Its hell to get old, even for a cat...